Description:
The book delves into the question of whether gun-related content on social media platforms should receive free speech protection under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and explores the possibility of using social media to reach common ground between gun rights and gun control supporters.
Review Quotes:
"This book makes a strikingly original contribution to the growing, inter-disciplinary, field of firearm/gun studies, providing fascinating insights into the 'pro-gun' and 'anti-gun' mindsets whilst also showing how theses might be systematically researched on websites and social media. The book also takes up the vital question of public safety and 1st Amendment freedoms as they relate to online 'gun talk'." - Peter Squires, University of Brighton, UK
"Given the ubiquity of social media and the roles it plays in fostering community and spreading ideas, it's surprising that there is no detailed study of gun culture online. Guns on the Internet takes important steps to fill that gap. Particularly timely, as YouTube moves to censor gun videos, is its even-handed consideration of free speech." - A.J. Somerset, author, Arms: The Culture and Credo of the Gun (2015, Biblioasis, Windsor, Ontario)"Hassett-Walker's Guns on the Internet presents a valuable description and analysis of gun subculture online; moreover, the book draws our attention to the importance of human connection and communication. Although the issue of guns in the United States is broad, the Internet and its evolution are essential considerations in any social, political, and legal discourse on guns." - Danika DeCarlo-Slobodnik, University of Ottawa, Book Review for The Canadian Criminal Justice Association (https: //www.ccja-acjp.ca)